Advanced Biotechnology

Molecular Modelling and Biopolymers

Molecular modelling is a technique which is mimicking the behaviour of the molecules, interaction of cells etc. The methods are used in the fields of computational chemistry, drug design, computational biology and materials science to study molecular systems ranging from small chemical systems to large biological molecules and material assemblies. 

Biopolymers are branches of biotechnology which deals with deals with the polymeric substance which are involved in biological system. It also contains monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures. A main difference between biopolymers and synthetic polymers can be set up in their structures. All polymers are finished form of repetitive units called monomers. Biopolymers always have a well-defined structure, though this is not a defining characteristic which is also example of lignocellulose. The exact chemical composition and the sequence in which these units are arranged is called the primary structure, in the case of proteins. Many biopolymers spontaneously fold into characteristic compact shapes which also implies in "protein folding" as well as secondary structure and tertiary structure, which determine their biological functions and depend in a complicated way on their primary structures. Structural biology is the study of the structural properties of the biopolymers. The most synthetic polymers have much simpler and more random structures.